With three days in Athens, we revisited a few favourite tavernas and cafés from our first stay, and also found some great new-to-us places for food and drink.
Read the full post »Back in Athens
In January and February of 2020, we spent three weeks in Greece, split between Athens and Crete. It was a wonderful trip, and we liked the country more than we had expected. We left eager to return to Greece in warmer weather, and to explore more of the islands. The pandemic had other plans, of course, and within weeks of landing back in Toronto we found ourselves in the first of many lockdowns. For a long while it seemed we might never travel frivolously again.
Read the full post »Benaki Museum
We visited the Benaki Museum in Athens. The museum is housed in the former mansion of the Benakis family, who donated their vast collections of Greek art — along with the house — in 1931.
Read the full post »Exarchia
Depending on who you listen to Exarchia is either Athen’s cool counterculture student neighbourhood — or a dangerous hotbed of anarchists and illegal squats. When we visited on a weekday morning we found quiet streets filled with cafes, interesting shops, and just a bit more graffiti than other parts of the city (which to be honest is a lot of graffiti by normal standards).
Read the full post »Bougatsa Thessaloniki
Bougatsa Thessaloniki is a small cafe and bakery in the Psirri (aka Psyri) area of Athens. They sell a wide variety of products but they are named after their most famous: the bougatsa, a custard-filled dessert made with phyllo pastry that originated in the city of Thessaloniki.
Read the full post »Varvakios Market
Varvakios Market, also known as the Athens Central Market, is located on Athinas Street between Monastiraki Square and Omonia Square. The main market building houses the butchers and fishmongers, but the market’s influence spreads into the surrounding streets where there are fruit and veggie stalls, dry goods vendors, and small specialty shops of many kinds.
Read the full post »Gazi
The neighbourhood of Gazi in Athens is not far from our place in Thissio. It’s just a short hop over a railway bridge… and then across a wide avenue filled with speeding cars and smog-spewing scooters. It’s a bit reminiscent of the waterfront in Toronto, so close yet so far.
Read the full post »Anafiotika
Anafiotika is a small yet distinct neighbourhood in Athens. It’s hidden in plain site in one corner of the larger Plaka neighbourhood, just underneath the steep northeast slope of the Acropolis. We took a wander through one morning and found it to be very quiet, well-kept, and populated by some of Athens luckiest cats.
Read the full post »Panathenaic Stadium
The Panathenaic Stadium in Athens dates to around 330 BC, when it began as a mere racecourse in a ravine between two hills. It was rebuilt in marble in 144 AD, then fell into disrepair for many centuries. It was restored again in marble for use as the primary venue for the first modern Olympics in 1896. The stadium also served as the finish line for the marathon in the 2004 Olympics.
Read the full post »Hadrian’s Arch
A short distance from the Temple of Olympian Zeus stands Hadrian’s Arch, erected by Emperor Hadrian in 161-162 AD to mark the boundary between old and new Athens at the time.
Read the full post »Temple of Olympian Zeus
The combined ticket for the Acropolis includes free admission to several other historic sites. Most don’t take as long to see as the Acropolis or Agora but they are still very impressive. One of these is the Temple of Olympian Zeus.
Read the full post »Brettos Bar
After spending most of Saturday exploring ancient Athenian history we made our way to Brettos bar and distillery in the central Athens neighbourhood of Plaka. Brettos (pronounced “Vrettos” in Greek) is something of an institution, having been open since 1909.
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